biography
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (1832–1910)
|
| biography:
| Aerial navigator, born in Paris, France. He went to the USA when his family emigrated in 1838, and went on to a successful career as a civil engineer, building iron railroad bridges. His favourite pastime was the study of aerial navigation, and he conducted the first scientific experiments in America on gliding (1896–7). He constructed a biplane glider which the Wright Brothers used as a model for their own first glider. In addition to piloting gliders, he wrote pioneering works on the engineering and navigational problems of flight. |
|
|
